


A Home for the Holidays

by greenest_kite



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Christmas, Dean Winchester Ships Gabriel/Sam Winchester, Fluff, Holidays, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:07:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28105212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greenest_kite/pseuds/greenest_kite
Summary: When Castiel’s old friend Gabriel has nowhere to go for Christmas, Castiel and Dean invite him to stay with them and Sam, who's home visiting from college.Sam and Gabriel were both hoping the other would provide a welcome distraction from the memories of all the lonely Christmases past.But Sam wasn’t counting on Gabriel being so charmingly distracting and Gabriel definitely was not prepared for Sam’s devilishly good looks.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Gabriel/Sam Winchester
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	A Home for the Holidays

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> First thank you to my little sister who inspired me to write this when she said we absolutely needed to write Christmas stories.
> 
> The second thank you to my two nerdy best friends who are the Destiel to my Sam (third wheeling included) and who helped me with some concepts and other such things that tend to be important when writing. :P
> 
> Happy readings!

Sam glanced around his dorm room as he slung his backpack over one shoulder and his duffel bag over the other, making sure he hadn’t forgotten anything he would need over the holidays while at his brother’s place. He grabbed his phone and keys off the table and locked the door behind him.

In the parking lot, he threw the two bags into his car while being careful to not make it impossible to reach the snacks in his backpack that would hopefully sustain him during the long drive ahead.

HIs phone rang. When he answered, it was Dean, “Hello?” he said.

“Heya, Sammy. How ya doin’?”

“Pretty good. Just making sure the car’s all packed up,” Sam did a last check on the few presents in the trunk, making sure none of them were in danger of being squished.

“Good, good. Casper is very excited to see you.”

Casper was a Bernese mountain dog mixed with something else that Sam had adopted when a friend’s dog had puppies in high school. When he’d been accepted to Stanford, he had had to leave Casper with Dean and his brother’s boyfriend Castiel because of the ridiculous _No Pets_ rule his dorm had.

“She is?”

“Is she ever,” Dean huffed, “This morning I said your name while she was in the kitchen with me and immediately she was off like a shot, whining and begging at the front door. She’s barely moved all day.”

“Give her a few pets to tide her over until I get there, yeah?”

“Aye, aye,” 

Sam could sense the eye roll Dean gave him through the phone, but knew his brother would give her some attention.

“Oh, that’s right, I had something else I had to tell you.”

Odd, Sam thought, “Alright, shoot.”

“A friend of Castiel’s doesn’t have a place to be for Christmas, and we invited him to stay with us. I wanted to make sure you were okay with it.”

“Of course, the more the merrier. After the hell Dad put us through over holidays I could never say no to someone who needs a place to be.”

“Sammy. Dad did the best he could.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Alright, well, I’ll see you soon, yeah?”

“Yeah. I’m heading out right now.” Sam was just about to hang up when he remembered the last thing he wanted to ask, “What’s the friend’s name?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s Gabriel.”

“Alright, cool. See you soon, Dean.”

“You too. And drive safe.”

“I will.”

Sam hung up and stared at his phone for a second, wondering what it was going to be like celebrating Christmas with someone who was essentially a stranger. Sure, he was Castiel’s friend, but neither Sam, or presumably Dean, based on his uncertainty about the guy’s name, knew him in the slightest.

He sincerely hoped this wouldn’t end up like that one Christmas in high school when Dean had brought home the girl he’d been dating at the time to try and prove _something_ to John Winchester. Sam still had no clue what that _something_ was, and doubted Dean did either. That Christmas had turned a particularly nasty shade of awful when Dean’s girlfriend had asked about getting a tree to decorate and then whether they could all sing carols together. The last straw was when she had asked John about Mary. John had stormed out of the shitty apartment they'd been living in, only to return a week later.

Since that awful year, Sam and Dean had had an unspoken agreement not to bring anyone home _ever_. Castiel had been the only exception to that rule ever since.

Sam buried his anger and frustration at John Winchester for another day and got into his car. 

He turned towards the highway that would take him home to his family.

But he couldn’t help wondering what Gabriel was going to be like.

~*~

Gabriel’s parked car was getting colder the longer he sat in it. His breath was creating clouds in the frigid air. He was possibly waiting for a sign that he should go knock on the door belonging to the people whose holiday he was crashing. 

Geez. He had asked to stay with a friend he hadn’t seen in over a year for Christmas. That was kinda pathetic now that he thought about it. 

Outside, two crows settled into the tree on the front lawn. Two for mirth, Gabriel thought. And figured that that was as close to an omen from God or whoever that he should just go knock on the door.

He grabbed his bag from the trunk and walked up the front step while being careful of the ankle-deep snow trying to crawl into his boots.

Eventually, he made it to the door, only a little worse for wear, and knocked. Then he realized there was a doorbell he should have rung.

Gabriel heard a dog start barking somewhere inside the house while he shuffled his feet.

Two seconds later, the door was pulled open by Castiel, who hadn’t really changed since Gabriel had last seen him, apart from the lack of a trench coat, “Gabriel! It’s wonderful to see you!”

“Cas!” Gabriel shook the snow off his boots before entering the house. “I’ve missed you.”

Farther inside, the dog was still barking, although he could hear another man attempting to get the dog to listen, “No, Casper. _Sit. Stay._ You have to wait your turn to say hello to guests. Right now it’s Castiel’s turn.” The dog whined. “Yeah, I know, life’s unfair. But you have to _stay_.” A last whine from the dog before another man entered the room.

The only way Gabriel could describe him was a lumberjack. Faded jeans. A flannel shirt. Only thing he was missing was a beard and maybe some suspenders.

“Gabriel, right?” The lumberjack said, “I’m Dean. Nice to meet you.”

Alright, so the lumberjack was Dean, Castiel’s boyfriend. Apparently there was no accounting for taste. “You too,” Gabriel said aloud, “Thanks for having me.”

“Of course,” Castiel said.

“No problem at all, "Dean added, "Besides, you’re doing us a bit of a favour. My little brother Sammy’s coming down too and he’s always complaining about playing third wheel.”

“Well then, I’m happy to help.”

Glancing at his watch, Castiel said, “Isn’t Sam supposed to be here soon?”

Dean lit up, “Yeah, he should be.”

Not a moment later, someone knocked on the door.

“Speak of the devil,” Dean said, pulling it open.

“A handsome devil though, right?” Said the man who stepped inside.

At the sound of the man’s voice, the dog (Casper?) came running in from the other room. She ran right past Gabriel to jump on Sam, who immediately dropped to his knees to pet her.

In the brief glimpse he had gotten, Gabriel had been struck by the man’s height. He dwarfed everyone in the room by a head at least.

Gabriel watched as the man attempted to pet every inch of the wriggling dog before eventually telling her to _sit,_ so he could say hello to everyone else.

And then the man stood up. Gabriel had noticed his height, but he had failed to notice anything else about him. This time, he took proper stock.

When Dean had said ‘little brother’ combined with the nickname ‘Sammy’ Gabriel had imagined someone in their teens. _Maybe_ their early twenties. The man in front of Gabriel was decidedly _not_ a teenager. His hair fell past his ears and looked like it would be incredibly soft if Gabriel were to run his hands through it even in it’s slightly slicked-back state.

His shoulders filled the flannel he was wearing wonderfully and the barest hit of stubble could be seen along his jaw. 

And good God. Gabriel immediately retracted his earlier statement about lumberjacks and taste. The man made Dean look like a banker or a CEO.

Dean pulled him into a hug first, “Sammy! I missed you, bitch.”

“Missed you too, Jerk.” He held Dean for another moment before turning to Castiel and pulling him into a hug, “Castiel, you do know you can come visit me too right?”

“No, thank you. I have spent more time than I could ever want to in student housing. You’ll just have to visit us.”

“Alright, fair enough,” The man said. He let go of Castiel with a smile and turned his attention to Gabriel.

He held out his hand, “Gabriel, right? I’m Sam. It’s nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Sam,”

Neither man let go for a moment that stretched on, seemingly into eternity and Gabriel was getting lost in Sam’s hazel-green eyes.

Dean clapped his hands, oblivious to what had transpired between his brother and house guest, “Who’s ready for dinner? Because I am starving. Let’s eat.” He made his way to, presumably, the kitchen, followed by Castiel.

Sam hung onto his hand a moment longer before he too followed Dean. 

Gabriel waited a moment longer, staring after him. 

A wet nose nudged his hand and he looked down at Casper. “Oh man am I in trouble,” He confided to the dog, trusting she wouldn’t tell anyone, before he too followed everyone else.

~*~

As he walked to the kitchen, Sam tried to collect himself after the very long moment spent staring at the most gorgeous man he’d ever seen.

Once there, he narrowly missed sending Dean, and the steaming pie tin in his hands, tumbling to the floor. Dean narrowed his eyes, warning Sam about what would befall him should he knock over Dean’s pie.

Sam narrowed his eyes back at Dean for interrupting the moment he and Gabriel had been having in the entryway.

Dean adopted a confused look, oblivious to what Sam was trying to tell him.

Castiel cleared his throat, “Let’s all sit down to eat then, shall we?”

The pie was placed on the table and everyone was served a slice.

The mouth-watering aroma of chicken pot pie filled the room.

When he took a bite, Sam was astounded. The filling wasn’t dry at all but wasn’t so gooey that it made the crust soggy. And the pie crust was flaky and buttery and perfectly crisp.

Sam took another bite, and another. The pie was continuously amazing.

“So, how’s my pie?” Dean asked, a few minutes later. 

Sam's eyes shot up, “Wait, wait. You mean to say this is your pie? You made it? Filling? Crust? Everything?”

“Yes I did, Sammy. All of it was homemade by yours truly.”

“Holy crap, this is amazing,” Sam took another bite, “You couldn’t have learned to cook like this when we were kids? Instead of feeding me fruit loops and Kraft Dinner.”

“Hey now, those were some five-star meals for a ten year old chef. Don’t dis the fruit loops.”

Distantly, Sam noticed Castiel clear his throat, but didn’t think anything of it.

He huffed, “You made me alphagetti for Christmas dinner.”

“Actually, if I remember correctly they were zoodles, not alphagetti. They were also some damn good zoodles.”

“Zoodles for Christmas dinner?”

Oh _shit_. Castiel’s throat clearing made sense. Gabriel was here.

“Our dad,” Sam finally managed to say, “Was not a great parent.”

“Sam, you know damn well that’s not true. Dad was no saint but he did the best he could for us.”

Sam rolled his eyes and snorted derisively at the constant hero-worship Dean showed John freaking Winchester.

The atmosphere around the table soured and no one dared to speak. 

Castiel tried to comfort Dean, only to be brushed away with a sullen shrug.

Gabriel squirmed in his seat and a small part of Sam was happy he was uncomfortable.

And from her place lying down at his feet, Casper whined.

They ate the rest of dinner in cold silence, barely punctuated by forks and knives clattering as everyone tried to make themselves as unnoticeable as possible. 

Eventually, they all finished eating and Dean broke the silence, “Sam take Gabriel and go pick a movie. Me and Cas are going to clean up.”

Sam herded Gabriel to the living room when it seemed like he was going to ask if he could help with cleaning up.

Sam grabbed the remote and threw himself onto one half of the couch praying Gabriel wasn’t going to deem it necessary to bring up dinner.

“I’m sorry for probing.” Gabriel said while sitting himself on the other half of the couch.

_No dice,_ Sam thought bitterly, “It’s whatever. Dad was awful and Dean can’t accept that. Just drop it.”

“Sorry,” Gabriel winced at Sam’s cutting tone, and Sam felt a teeny bit bad about it, knowing Gabriel hadn’t really done anything wrong except being curious. 

“Yeah. So what are your thoughts on watching _How the Grinch Stole Christmas_?” Sam hopped Gabriel would see the subject change as the olive branch it was intended as.

“I’m not opposed.” Gabriel smiled a bit, “Although I do have some issues with the Grinch stealing all the Christmas chocolates.”

Sam smiled as Gabriel threw himself into the classic ‘fainting damsel’ pose, “Honestly! Stealing a person’s chocolate! I’m almost positive it’s a violation of the Geneva Convention.”

He definitely _did not_ giggle at Gabriel’s dramatics. If anything, it was a very manly chuckle.

“I hope you two are decent,” Dean said, while rounding the corner from the kitchen.

Sam quickly looked away from Gabriel to hide his reaction to the insinuation of _not being decent_ with him. “You really never did leave high school, did you?” He said to deflect.

Dean threw a bag of microwave popcorn at Sam’s head, “It’s one of my many charms.”

Castiel snorted as he entered the room, “Your immaturity is most certainly not one of your so-called ‘many charms.’” 

“Ha!” Sam gloated, “Your boyfriend agrees with me!”

Dean just stuck his tongue out at Sam while Castiel rolled his eyes before he turned to Gabriel, “You still love chocolate, yes?”

“Yes, thank you!” Gabriel said as he eagerly tore into the wrapping.

Sam tried not to find it as adorable as he did while tucking away the information for possible woo-ing purposes later.

“Wonderful,” Castiel said before going to Casper who was lying on her dog bed and giving her a treat and a pat on the head. He then settled himself on the big, comfy armchair in the corner and settled himself. “Come here Dean.”

Dean glared at Sam as though daring him to say a word while going to curl up mostly on top of his boyfriend.

“Start the movie, Sam.” Dean ordered, apparently perfectly content in his spot.

Sam hit play and started to munch his deliciously buttery popcorn.

He started to hear rustling fabric as Cindy-Lou Who was climbing Mount Crumpit, but that stopped immediately when Castiel said, “Dean, I swear to God, if you don’t stop shifting your weight-” he let the threat hang in the air, and the rustling stopped.

Gabriel was still munching his chocolate and Sam was kind of amazed, having finished his popcorn barely twenty minutes in.

As the Grinch started planning his heist, Sam’s eyes grew heavy, tired from the long drive. He figured a nap would be fine.

He listed sideways eyes already closed and the last thing he noticed was the sweetly comforting scent of rich chocolate.

~*~

Enraptured by the movie, Gabriel didn't notice that Sam had fallen asleep until the man was almost on top of him, nuzzling into his shirt.

He tried to figure out what to do with an oversize, baby koala bear.

“Heavy, isn’t he?” Dean asked from where he was ensconced in blankets and his boyfriend’s arms.

Gabriel nodded with a pink tinge on his cheeks.

“You can shove him off if you like. Kid sleeps like the dead, it won’t wake him up.”

Gabriel looked down at Sam. His face was relaxed as he slept and he had a small smile adorning his lips. It seemed a shame to move him when he was clearly so comfortable. “It’s alright,” Gabriel gently pulled his arm out from under Sam and wrapped it around his shoulders, “He’s fine here.”

Having turned his attention back to the screen where the Grinch was stealing things, Gabriel was able to pretend he hadn’t heard Dean say, “I’m sure he is,” As both brothers snuggled farther into their respective human pillows.

The movie kept playing.

Gabriel barely noticed the incremental movements he was making to get into a more comfortable position to cuddle Sam.

He wound up pressed between Sam’s bulk and the back of the couch.

Unable to see the screen any longer, Gabriel closed his eyes and fell under Hypnos’ spell.

~*~

Sam and Gabriel were both too deeply asleep to notice when the movie ended.

Or to notice when Castiel left and returned seconds later with a soft blanket that he draped over them.

Or when Dean said, “They look cute together.”

And Castiel responded, “Yes, they do.”

**Author's Note:**

> Couple things to mention:
> 
> 1) I do not live in the US. As such I have no clue about geography near Stanford and whether snow is even possible within a couple hours drive??
> 
> 2) If you're curious about the crows (they will be back) it's a nursery rhyme originally about magpies. If you google 'counting crows rhyme' it will pop up. There are a couple different variation, but they're mostly the same.
> 
> 3) I've only watched up to early season 5 so please try to avoid any spoilers? Thank you!


End file.
